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The javelin throw is something of an obsession in Finland, and the
country always has such a depth of talent in the event, that it is
difficult for athletes with high international rankings to gain
representation on national teams. This was certainly the case with
Tapio Korjus, who was consistently one of Finland's leading throwers
during the 1980's, but was not able to make a major impact on the
international scene until 1988. Korjus was in scintillating form that
year, setting a new Finnish record of 85.18m in an international match
against Norway at Oyestad on 16 June. On 7 August, Tapio retained his
Finnish national title that he had first won the previous year, and then
on 25 August, at Lahti, he once again broke the Finnish national
record, throwing 86.50m to move to third on the all-time world list.
Despite Tapio's successes, the favourite at the following month's
Olympic Games in Seoul was world record holder Jan Zelezny
(Czechoslovakia), who set an Olympic record of 85.90m in the qualifying
round. In the final, Korjus took the lead in the first round, but he
was overtaken by first his compatriot Seppo Raty, and then Zelezny, who
extended his lead to 84.12m on his sixth throw. Meanwhile, Korjus had
been suffering from leg cramps, which caused him to pass his third and
fourth attempts, and then he fouled his fifth throw. Putting everything
into his last attempt, Korjus reached 84.28m to just tip Zelezny out of
the gold medal.
That was the pinnacle of Korjus' career, as he did not
compete outside Scandinavia in 1989, and quickly disappeared from the
annual lists after that. (Ron Casey)
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